Business news briefs, Aug. 29: Marriott to eliminate use of small plastic bottles for shampoos, other toiletries

Wednesday

Aug 28, 2019 at 7:03 PM

HOTELS

Marriott to move away

from small plastic bottles

Marriott International, the world's largest hotel chain, said Wednesday it will eliminate small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel from its hotel rooms worldwide by December 2020. They'll be replaced with larger bottles or wall-mounted dispensers, depending on the hotel.

The move follows a similar announcement last month by IHG, which owns Holiday Inn, Kimpton and other brands. IHG said it will eliminate about 200 million tiny bottles each year by 2021. Last year, Walt Disney Co. said it would replace small plastic shampoo bottles at its resorts and on its cruise ships. Many smaller companies, like the five Soneva Resorts in Thailand and the Maldives, have also ditched plastic bottles.

Marriott says it will be eliminating about 500 million small bottles each year, or 1.7 million pounds of plastic.

RETAIL

Rental clothing company

buys Lord & Taylor chain

Lord & Taylor, one of the nation's oldest department stores, is being sold for $100 million to a rental clothing company.

Le Tote Inc. is buying the company from Hudson's Bay Co., which gets a minority stake in Le Tote and will control two seats on its board.

Lord & Taylor, founded as a dry goods store in 1826, has struggled recently as more people shop online. It has closed several stores, including its flagship on New York's Fifth Avenue, which shut its doors for good earlier this year after more than a century in the 11-story building. There are currently 38 Lord & Taylor stores across the country.

Under the agreement, Hudson's Bay and a subsidiary will own the stores and Le Tote will operate from them.

AUTOS

Replacement air bags

recalled in some Toyotas

Toyota is recalling 191,000 cars in North America and Japan because the air bags may not inflate properly in a crash.

Toyota says the front passenger air bags in the cars were installed in prior recalls to replace dangerous Takata air bags.

Survey finds safety tools

annoy many motorists

Alerts from new driver assist systems can be so annoying that some motorists are turning the features off, according to a new survey.

The 2019 J.D. Power Tech Experience Index study also found that frustrated drivers may avoid the systems in future vehicle purchases. That's a problem for automakers who want to sell the technology and prepare people for fully automated vehicles, the company said. For example, systems that keep vehicles centered or within their lanes were problematic for owners, the study found.

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